Kraków John Paul II International Airport, located in the town of Balice, is the second busiest in Poland in terms of passenger traffic and is the 62nd top airport in Europe for scheduled passenger flights per day.
Whilst passenger numbers fell by almost 70% during the hight of the pandemic, a similar percentage to other European airports, they are expected to increase from this base by 64% in 2021 to handle 4,250,645 passengers and continue to grow from there in 2022.
As a result, a number of enhancements are planned to increase capacity, including a new runway and extension to the terminal building to be completed over this decade, and new routes are likely to be added much sooner to compliment the 113 destinations currently served.
With demand for leisure travel picking up and travellers starting to plan trips over the coming months, flyers will again need to consider the ancillary aspects of air travel, many of which have been influenced by the pandemic.
Key among these is how you will get to the airport, and whilst there are a range of good transport options to get to Krakow airport, this article will focus on those who drive to the airport and plan to leave their car in one of the car parks whilst they’re away.
There are currently 3 official car parks catering for mid to long-term stays at Krakow airport, named P1, P2 and P3, whilst a new multi-storey car park is in the works as part of the improvements being made to the airport. These on-site car parks are the most popular options, purely for the convenience offered by the fact that they are all within easy walking distance of the terminal buildings.
P1 is a covered multi-storey car park and rates start from 60 PLN per day and a week will set you back 200 PLN. P2 and P3 are open air and prices are from 54 PLN for one day and 95 PLN for a week. These car parks can all be paid for either at the kiosks in the stairwells on arrival or in advance online.
For those looking for lower rates, there are plenty of off-site Krakow Airport parking choices. Some of these start from just 60 PLN for 7 days (King Parking Airport Krakow), which represents a significant saving compared with the on-site car parks and offers customers the peace of mind of having security measures such as CCTV as well as the convenience of an on-demand shuttle transfer service.
One of the most popular off-site car parks at Balice airport is DARKO Parking Balice Krakow, which offers both shuttle and meet and greet options and is available from just 35 PLN per day and around 100 PLN per week. One of the advantages of this car park is that travellers can keep their keys, and there is also a dedicated night patrol which further enhances security. It is open air, like the vast majority of off site car parks at Balice.
Parking Samolocik is another popular car park, and consistently one of the top reviewed, where rates start from 40 PLN per day and 75 PLN per week. A key advantage of this car park compared with some other off site car parks is that it is open 24 hours a day. This is very helpful for those landing back at the airport late in the evening, or travellers on long haul flights where a delay could potentially mean not being able to collect their vehicle immediately upon their return.
Parking Samolocik is just a 3 minute transfer from the airport and is monitored, insured and fenced. It has a rating of 4.9 out of 5 on ParkVia from 706 reviews, suggesting that travellers are overall very satisfied with the service provided.
It’s worth noting that some off-site car parks at Krakow still take the payment on arrival, although Parking Samolocik take it in advance.
With Covid in mind, some customers will prefer the on-site options rather than take a shared transfer, however by now all car parks serving the airport have taken anti-covid measures such as having staff wear face masks and surfaces regularly sanitised.
Whilst we have only covered a small number of the available car parking options at Krakow Airport, we have included some of the most popular options in this article to give travellers an overview of facilities and prices.